Watershed ecosystem services such as the
provision of fresh water resources are essential for most societies. The sustainability of these services in dynamic landscapes, and
therefore, the vulnerability of the human populations they support, depends
on complex and interacting socio-economic, biophysical, and institutional
factors. This
project will analyze how biophysical and social factors affect the delivery
of fresh water to rural communities in Puerto Rico. There are over 300 small
rural communities throughout Puerto Rico, which manage their own private
water delivery. Populations served by these systems range from 100,000 to
300,000 people island-wide. These private
drinking water systems are mostly located in rural, economically challenged
areas and serve communities with low average education levels, as well as
high unemployment and under-employment rates. Often residents of these
communities are at risk for acute and chronic waterborne illness due to
non-compliance with drinking water quality standards, an issue which has been
recognized as a public health threat by the government since the 1980ís.

We are exploring how social structures and management actions are
effective in reducing vulnerability of these rural populations to ongoing
changes in land use and climate. We are examining this question using the
tools of the natural, social, and atmospheric sciences, including detailed
field research, land use change analyses, hydrology, and modeling.
Specifically, we are investigating: (1) how land use change and precipitation
variability influence fresh water delivery; (2) the degree to which
socioeconomic factors and governance structures affect access to fresh water
in rural communities; and (3) how regional climate change, particularly
shifts in the frequency of droughts and tropical storms, might disturb the
regulation and vulnerability of water delivery to these communities. The goal
is to identify the aspects of landscape
management and water governance that affect access to water and water quality
under precipitation extremes.

Figure 1. Private
water delivery system in Puerto Rico. Water is first collected in small dams
and then transferred to a holding where it is treated† before delivery.